Category Archives: Crock Pot

I am so excited right now – I don’t know if it is from the mug of coffee I just finished or because I have found so many amazing recipes for Thanksgiving that I just can’t wait to share! Every year my parents host Thanksgiving. About 8 years ago I asked if I could help cook. This was around the same time I became very interested in nutrition, so my ulterior motive was to turn our traditional WI thanksgiving into a more wholesome, healthful, and nutritious meal. Thankfully that first successful year has turned into tradition of homemade pies, fresh vegetables, and made-from-scratch cranberry sauce.

Each year I search for new recipes to try. In the last few weeks I have found dozens of fall dishes that I can’t wait to try (but will likely have to with this thing called medical school in my way). Here are some of the favorites I have found so far. As I make them, I will post the recipes with notes about how they were.

Rinse the quinoa in a fine strainer until the water runs clear. Dump it into 4-6 qt crockpot.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and mix it around. Add chicken or vegetable broth, the salt, and cinnamon. Stir in almonds and cranberries.

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. The quinoa is done when you can fluff it with a fork and it is tender. The liquid should be pretty well absorbed, similar to how you know rice is done.

Fluff the quinoa with a fork, and add the baby tomatoes and feta cheese. Stir gingerly to mix. Add a large handful of baby spinach to the top of the crockpot, and close the lid. Cook on high for about 20 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted. Stir again to distribute the spinach.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cream, egg, salt, nutmeg, and sugar. Pour this mixture into your slow cooker, and stir well.

Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Your pudding is done when the carrots are tender.

Improve the texture by blending. You can use a hand-held stick blender (CAREFULLY) pulse a few times to create a pudding-like consistency. You can also (carefully!!) transfer the mixture to a traditional blender to pulse a bit.

Place the roast into a 6 qt slow cooker. Add diced bell pepper, onion, and tomatillos. Pour in the contents of the diced chile can and the tomato can. Add spices. Stir a bit to get the spices down the sides of the meat. Add chopped cilantro to the top.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat shreds easily with a fork. If the meat seems tough, chopped it into large chunks, and put it back in the pot for another hour or two

Serve with rice, corn tortillas, shredded cheese, and a dollop of sour cream. Here is a A Year of Slow Cooking’srefried bean recipe if you’d like to give it a try!

Use a 6 quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the salt and cumin. Rub mixture all over the pork, then plop into the slow cooker. Add whole garlic cloves. Squeeze on the citrus, and pour the beef broth evenly over the top.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the pork shreds quite easily with a fork. If your meat is still fully intact after 8 hours, remove and cut into chunks, then return to the crock and flip to high for about an hour or two.